Restaurants and food markets have utilized rigid containers to protect and display both perishable and fragile food items such as sandwiches, salads and bakery items. Rigid plastic food containers are typically manufactured from Polystyrene, Polypropylene, Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polylactide, Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), or other rigid polymers. They generally comprise either of two-parts—a tray and lid—or they may be a one-piece construction with a hinge that modifies one portion of the container to act as the tray and the other connected portion to act as a lid. Furthermore, they are available in a variety of shapes and cross-sections—circular, rectangular, square, and elliptical, etc.
These traditional roles of plastic packaging are now the minimum expected standards, and the requirements placed on plastic food packaging continue to expand as increasing demands are placed upon it. Presentation, brand presence, consumer desires, added value to enhance commercial competitiveness, differentiation, imagery and psychology has resulted in the design and application of plastic packaging becoming more challenging. Convenience and versatility continue to shape the future of packaging, with consumers gravitating toward packaged convenience items that minimize the impact on their behavior. This has forced packaging manufacturers to include social and environmental considerations into their development process. The growth of fast food restaurants and the competitive response from food markets offering packaged meal product for consumers “on-the-go” is such an indication of this trend. However, there is a growing body of evidence that consuming fast food product while driving presents enormous hazards. Despite regulation that requires at least one hand on the wheel at all times, much of currently available food product and its packaging is not designed with this regulation in mind. It is difficult, if not impossible, for example, for one to safely consume a food product that may need a condiment or other taste-enhancing feature. Additionally, this form of food consuming has gained more attention since the banning in some areas on handheld cell phones—representing a belief that multi-tasking when driving is hazardous.
Despite these concerns, this trend is unlikely to stop as consumers lifestyles evolve. The fast food industry is growing and the automotive industry continues to provide in-vehicle accessories and interiors to promote eating and drinking. All this presents opportunities to packaging manufacturers and their food processing clients to develop packaging integrated food solutions especially for convenience-oriented consumers while in transport.
There is a need to offer a variety of convenience-enhancing multiple compartmentalized food trays that take into account driver ergonomics, including the encumbrance consuming food while driving places on the driver and passengers, and existing accessories that currently exist in vehicles. This invention provides for a unique approach that achieves this objective.